


Little Star

by chezamanda



Series: The Stars Came Falling [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Babies, Children, Dad Poe Dameron, F/M, Gen, Kid Fic, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Post-Movie(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-25
Updated: 2016-10-25
Packaged: 2018-08-24 13:50:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8374495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chezamanda/pseuds/chezamanda
Summary: Poe takes his little girl for a walk.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eiluned](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eiluned/gifts).



> This is birthday fic for another new parent (and my best friend), Pamela. <3333
> 
> Follows [The Stars Came Falling](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6752611), but it can be read alone. Eira Pavlis is an OC of my own creation, as is their daughter.

Something that years of service to both the Republic and the Resistance hadn’t taught Poe Dameron was that babies cry. A lot. That night wasn’t any different. He had tried to ignore the whimpers that initially woke him, but Saira wasn’t about to let her parents sleep in.

 

“I’ll get her,” he said against Eira’s shoulder.

 

“Mmkay,” she sighed and then pressed her face into the pillow.

 

Saira was just shy of three months old, and Poe was still getting used to the whole dad thing. Flying? No sweat. Helping to take down a would-be Empire? Piece of cake. Keeping a tiny human being alive? Terrifying. He knew Eira was in the same boat because neither of them had parents or grandparents around to pass on any advice. There were members of the Resistance who had offered some pointers, but the consensus was that new parents learned as they went. 

 

Sometimes he felt a bit useless since Eira was the one who seemed to do everything. She had given birth to her, she carried her around most of the time, she provided food for her, and was often the one taking care of Saira while he was out. He tried not to stay away too long, but the cleanup process left after the war required his time. He had nearly missed her birth due to an earlier than expected labor and a recovery mission running over schedule. 

 

Poe stumbled around in the near darkness until he found the crib. “Hey, hey,” he said softly, and reached down to scoop Saira up. “What’s wrong, little one?”

 

Everything seemed fine as far as he could tell. She wasn’t wet, she didn’t feel feverish - so he figured it had to be food. Instead of waking Eira up, he went into the kitchen for one of the extra bottles that she made up earlier that day. Saira continued to fuss as he waited for the bottle to warm up on the cooker. 

 

Once it was ready, he settled into the comfortable chair in the other room with Saira resting against his arm. She looked up at him while she drank. Both Poe and Eira liked to hum to their daughter when she nursed. Her little feet kicked inside the blanket - something that she did when she was happy. He figured it was either from the music or the food ( _probably the food,_ he thought). 

 

With her bottle finished, Poe set her against his chest and patted her on the back. It never failed to make him laugh at how loudly the kid could burp. She could put some of his team to shame with that. 

 

“Okay kiddo, I’m awake and you’re awake,” he said, looking down at the wide eyed little girl now resting against his knees. “Wanna play cards or something?”

 

She only stared at him, still too young to understand him.

 

“Yeah, bad idea.”

 

He looked around but there wasn’t much a baby would like in their small living quarters. What he knew about his daughter so far was that she liked to eat (which he already took care of), she liked her blankie (which she currently had wrapped around her), and she liked to sleep (which she wasn’t doing). 

 

“Want to go for a walk?”

 

Saira made a little grunting noise. 

 

“All right, let’s go for a walk.”

 

With Saira tucked into her cloth sling, Poe headed out of the small, grass-covered building that they called home. It had been a gift from General Organa so they wouldn’t have to attempt to raise a newborn in the barracks. It wasn’t going to be their permanent home, but there was still plenty to take care of before they could find somewhere else to settle. And they didn’t want to travel with Saira being so small. A few people hung around the tarmac that night as well as some maintenance droids. BB-8 remained back at the house, powered down while it recharged for the evening.

 

“See that? That’s what your papa flies,” he said, pointing to his X-wing in the hangar. “And maybe one day you’ll go up with me.”

 

Saira gurgled, and he grinned.

 

“Your grandma was a pilot. That’s where I learned how to fly. She did a lot to help keep the galaxy safe for everyone,” he told her. “And your grandpa did too. Hopefully, you won’t have to worry about any of that stuff when you’re grown up.”

 

Poe continued walking through and explaining every make and model of ship. Saira’s dark eyes watched him intently and followed where he pointed. It was strange how long ago it seemed that most of them had been fighting against the First Order when it was only a matter of months. There had been moments when he wondered if he would ever see his daughter or his partner again. 

 

“Your mama doesn’t like flying,” he whispered conspiratorially. “I think you will.”

 

He hoped that everything they had done over the past few years would make it possible for Saira and other kids to grow up and lead regular lives. Just like her parents, she had been born in the wake of an intergalactic war. They had been “victory kids,” though Saira had been more a result of lapsed contraception and the fear that her parents might have never seen each other again. Poe decided to roll with the second generation “victory kid” label instead of trying to explain all of that to her. 

 

As scary as fatherhood felt, Poe had always wanted to have a child. It was something he imagined even when he was a little boy. At times, he had felt like a father to his pilots, and a few of them even jokingly called him “dad.” Though up until very recently, he had assumed that was the only kind of dad he would be. Saira had proved him wrong, and he couldn’t imagine his life without her now. His pilot kids had come to visit them as had Finn and Rey, bringing what little they could find as gifts. This included a tiny model X-wing that Pava had made in her downtime, which now occupied a special place on the shelf above Saira’s crib.

 

“I bet you’ll be really smart like your mom,” he said and traced one of her dark curls with his index finger. “And you’re gonna grow up and do lots of great stuff.”

 

She snuffled, tucking her face against his chest. It wouldn’t be long before she nodded off. Poe continued to walk her around and talked to her in a hushed voice. He couldn’t wait to hear what her voice sounded like, but she was still too little for that. He could see himself with a whole mess of kids, although Eira had gone through enough difficulty with Saira that he wasn’t sure she would want to repeat it. Still, his mind wandered as he headed back toward the house.

 

Just as expected, Saira was conked out by the time he reached the door. Very carefully, Poe laid her back in her crib and kissed her forehead before he returned to bed. Eira turned over as he eased back in.

 

“Where’d you go?” she asked, curling up against him, her body warm from the bed.

 

He stroked her hair. “Just took her for a walk. Talked about some stuff.”

 

“Oh, she’s talking already? Our kid’s a genius,” she teased. He felt her smirk against his bare shoulder.

 

Poe smiled and curled up beside Eira, enjoying the temporary quiet and calm. He knew Saira would be up in a few hours (if that). Even with all of the stress and the lack of sleep, Poe considered himself one hell of a lucky guy to have his little family. He closed his eyes and dozed off.

 

What felt like seconds later, Saira began to cry again.

 

Poe nudged Eira. “Your turn.”


End file.
